Reading a German payslip: why gross is not what lands
€15 per hour gross does not mean €15 in your account. Here is what comes off a German payslip, what an employer may lawfully deduct, and what should make you ask questions.
The most common disappointment in a first German job is not the work. It is the first payslip.
Somebody was told “€15 an hour”, multiplied by 170 hours, expected €2,550, and received substantially less. Nothing went wrong. They were simply reading the gross number.
What comes off, and why
Income tax (Lohnsteuer). Withheld monthly according to your tax class.
Social contributions. Four insurances, split between you and your employer:
- Pension insurance (Rentenversicherung)
- Health insurance (Krankenversicherung)
- Unemployment insurance (Arbeitslosenversicherung)
- Long-term care insurance (Pflegeversicherung)
These are not optional and they are not a scam — the health insurance in particular is what pays for a doctor if you are hurt, which in physical warehouse work is not a hypothetical.
Depending on tax class and income, net pay commonly lands somewhere around 65–75% of gross.
Tax class changes the number more than people expect
Your Steuerklasse is assigned according to your marital and family situation. Two colleagues doing the identical job on the identical gross rate can take home noticeably different amounts because of it. If you are married and your spouse is not working, this is worth getting right at the start rather than reclaiming later.
Deductions that are legitimate, and one that is not
Legitimate, when agreed in your contract in writing before you start:
- Accommodation — commonly €300–€365 per month in the logistics roles we place, typically shared with one other person.
- Transport to site — commonly €45–€50 per month.
Not legitimate: a deduction that was never in your contract and appears on the payslip anyway, or an amount different from what you agreed. If that happens, photograph the payslip and raise it immediately — with your employer, and with your recruiter.
The premiums worth knowing about
The gross figure often understates what you actually earn, in the other direction:
- Night premium — commonly 25% for hours between 23:00 and 06:00, and often tax-free.
- Paid overtime — standard in most of the logistics roles we place.
- Performance pay — some picking roles pay by units handled.
- Tax-free expenses (Spesen) — for roles that travel, these can be a substantial part of real take-home.
Ask before you sign, not after
Three questions settle almost everything:
- What is the gross hourly or monthly figure, and how many hours are standard?
- What exactly will be deducted, and how much?
- On which day of which month am I paid?
Any employer worth working for answers all three in writing. Every job page on this site states the pay, the deductions and the payment date as the employer gave them to us, in the original German — so you can ask those questions before you apply rather than after you arrive.
Häufige Fragen
Why is my German net pay so much lower than the gross figure?
Income tax and social insurance contributions — pension, health, unemployment and long-term care — are deducted at source. Depending on tax class and income, net pay is commonly around 65–75% of gross.
What is a Steuerklasse and why does it matter?
It is your tax class, assigned according to your marital and family situation. It determines how much income tax is withheld each month, so two people on identical gross pay can take home noticeably different amounts.
Can my employer deduct rent for accommodation from my wages?
Yes, where it is agreed in the contract in advance and the amount is stated. What is not acceptable is a deduction that appears after you start, or an amount different from the one you agreed.
When is a German salary usually paid?
Most commonly at the end of the month or in the middle of the following month. Some of our logistics employers pay on the 15th of the following month, which is legal but worth planning your first weeks around.